Impact on minorities focus of voter ID debate

Democrats think turnout would be held down.

By R.G. RATCLIFFE/r.g.ratcliffe@chron.com

Published 2:12 am, Wednesday, January 26, 2011

AUSTIN — With passage of a photo voter identification bill all but a foregone conclusion in the Texas Senate, Democratic senators Tuesday sought to demonstrate that such a law would suppress minority voter turnout in possible violation of the federal Voting Rights Act.

The Senate, organized as a committee of the whole, listened to more than 10 hours of testimony and discussion before sending the bill to the full Senate for a debate scheduled to begin at 9:20 p.m. today.

The 20-12 vote was along party lines and included favorable votes by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy. Hegar was out sick, but the party caucus leaders agreed to have his vote counted because it didn’t change the outcome, Dewhurst said.

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The testimony brought out problems some voters may have getting valid photo identification; testimony about historical instances of minority voters being killed for trying to cast their ballots; and of a senator’s grandfather casting votes for 62 years after he died. There also was testimony about “devious nuns” who tried to show up an Indiana voter identification law in 2008.

It was clear that the Senate’s 18 Republicans will vote for the bill while the 12 Democrats will vote against it. The debate and the testimony all appeared to be in preparation for a legal challenge if the bill becomes law.

The bill is modeled after an Indiana law that has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, but Democrats noted that Indiana isn’t covered by the Voting Rights Act, as Texas is.

Indiana’s chief elections legal officer, Jerry Bonnet, defended his state’s photo identification voting law for Texas senators Tuesday, saying he knew of no instance of anyone suffering major problems voting because of it.

But Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, said she knew of a story where 10 nuns were barred from voting in the 2008 election because they did not have driver’s licenses. Bonnet said the incident was a set-up.

“The nuns did have passports ... but they refused to present them,” Bonnet said. “It really was a media event. That incident would seem to be discredited as a legitimate event.”

“You’re saying this was organized by devious nuns?” Van de Putte asked.

“Yes,” Bonnet replied.

The current Texas bill — Senate Bill 14 — would require people to present either a driver’s license, a Texas Department of Public Safety-issued photo ID, a passport, federal citizenship papers with a photo attached or a military ID.

Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, the legislation’s sponsor, said a poll done last fall found 86 percent of Texans favor a voter photo ID law, including a majority of the African Americans and Hispanics interviewed.

Fraser said vote fraud has plagued the United States throughout its history.

“Every fraudulent vote steals a legitimate vote,” Fraser said.

Fraser said voter impersonation at the polls may not be widespread but “in a close election, even a small amount of fraud can make a difference.”

Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, said someone cast a ballot for his grandfather for 62 years after his death.

Williams said his mother tried for years to get his grandfather taken off the registration roles.

“He was a loyal Democrat,” Williams said. “He voted in every election.”

Van de Putte, chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus, noted that Texas is covered by the Voting Rights Act because of past discrimination.

Gary Bledsoe, the state president of the NAACP, said no problem with voter fraud is widespread enough to risk the possibility that people will be denied their vote. Bledsoe said that historically in Texas, African Americans have been harassed and intimidated for voting.

“All the people who are eligible to vote should be allowed to vote,” Bledsoe said.

Andres Tijerina, a history professor at Austin Community College, said Texas history is filled with times when Texas Rangers shot Mexican-Americans for voting, and lynch mobs that hanged Hispanic voters.

“Texas has a history and a legacy of voter intimidation and discrimination,” Tijerina said. Democratic senators made the argument that voters in urban areas who lack a driver’s license may find obtaining an ID difficult in crowded DPS offices.

“In Houston it takes two to three hours to renew a driver’s license,” said John Whitmire, D-Houston.

Fraser said 15 million people in Texas have a driver’s license and 13 million people are registered voters.

Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, said his district includes remote rural areas between San Antonio and El Paso where there are no driver’s license offices or offices are only open one day a month. He noted that residents of Ozona would have a 163-mile round trip to a DPS office; those in Van Horn would have a 200-mile round trip.